Dan Flavin at The Chinati Foundation, Marfa, TX

It really is as neat as its image. There are two configurations based off the same general layout. Each configuration is housed in its own building. They are each repeated three times, so the installation consumes 6 buildings. I’ve seen the images but I never realized the real estate impact.

I don’t think this works well for the work. As an audience member traveling through, the first building is magical, the second (the second configuration) seals the deal, the third offers a solid academic defense, the fourth seems less inspired, the fifth seems like a waste and the sixth just underlines the fact that this artist had too big of a budget.

Actually, there could have only been five, but does it really matter? Three would have been perfect.

That said, the magic of seeing this installation is worth the trouble of getting to Marfa alone [a city in the middle of nowhere, Texas]. This is easily Flavin’s best work.